logoalt Hacker News

kayodelycaonyesterday at 5:53 PM4 repliesview on HN

Emergency services (with the proper software) have been able to get your precise location from your phone for a while now.

This isn’t a new capability and shouldn’t be surprising.


Replies

Etheryteyesterday at 6:05 PM

None of this should be happening without the user's knowledge and consent. Swap out your phone carrier for Facebook and it should be plainly obvious why the current state of affairs is undesirable.

show 3 replies
nateberkopecyesterday at 9:21 PM

I spent ~5 years volunteering for a search and rescue team in New Mexico.

We definitely got the cellphone tower triangulation data. I never once saw GNSS data provided by a carrier. We used FindMeSAR https://findmesar.com/, the subject would usually text back the coordinates from the phone.

Just one data point.

The revolution that's occurred since my SAR volunteer days is the wide availability of satellite messenging on consumer phones. I'm guessing that's really changed the situation quite a bit.

flemhanstoday at 1:19 AM

One method is a "hidden sms" which your device sends after you called the emergency number on your own merit.

The article seems to describe another system which can be involved externally.

michaeltyesterday at 6:04 PM

Surely that only happens when the phone user dials 911 ?

show 4 replies